HRW: South Korea’s Military “Sodomy” Law Violates Rights

A press note from HRW’s official site informs about South Korea’s law that bans same-sex conduct for soldiers wich violates its international human rights obligations and should be repealed – as Human Rights Watch said in an amicus brief submitted to the country’s Constitutional Court.

Domestic and international human rights groups have challenged the discriminatory law, which has been used to punish sexual acts among servicemen with up to two years in prison under a “disgraceful conduct” clause – regardless of consent and whether they have sex within or outside of military facilities.

Human Rights Watch explains how article 92-6 violates internationally protected rights including the rights to privacy, against arbitrary detention, and to nondiscrimination and equality. It also says that national, regional, and international bodies have roundly rejected claims that factors such as military discipline can be used as justification for bans on same sex relations in the military.

South Korea’s 1962 Military Criminal Act’s article 92-6, the provision that bans same-sex conduct among soldiers, was upheld as recently as 2016, by the Constitutional Court in a 5-4 ruling.